Kitchen Garden Forum

MMMMMMMMM i have just made my yearly elderflower cordial and look forward to sharing it with the family and friends at work,only problem is i left it in my car (the flowers) overnight and now my car smells like a tom cat has been in it any ideas how to get rid of the smell...have tried airfreshner to no avail

Had a quick scan of `New Posts' and thought I`d got a lovely message from you!

Then it`s just a problem with a stink!

Hi Grockie. I like the sound of your elderflower cordial..yum!
Regarding the pong in your car, you could try "Febreze", which you spray onto your seat covers etc. Once it's dried out, the nasty niffs should be gone and a nice one left instead.
I tried it after I lent my car to my step-daughter when she had to collect her dog from the kennels.....the car then reeked of that awful doggy smell and the Febreze sorted it. Asda do their own version but I haven't tried it.
Cheers.

We have a black elder - sambucus nigra which has pink flowers - apparently cordial made from them is tinged pink. There is just one problem the flowers look stunning and it would be such a shame to pick them off!

We make our own elderflower cordial every year from flowers on bushes alongside the Leeds-Liverpool canal, right out in the countryside, well away from any contaminating road fumes and some are absolutely huge, like dinner plates!

It's becoming more difficult, though, to buy the citric acid needed for the recipe (our nearest Boots no longer sell it). Has anybody got a recipe without using citric acid?

H Monica, I was wondering if simple lemon juice would be a substitute for the citric acid?

Thanks, Nature's Babe. Following your reply, I have just looked at several elderflower cordial recipes on the internet and all mention citric or tartaric acid, and they are in addition to lemons. Perhaps it is as much to do with keeping quality as taste.

I'll have to try some small chemists for it, they are probably more likely to stock it, or shops which sell wine making stuff.

gl : if you have space or can gorilla garden the allotment boundary the Black Elder (like all Elders) roots very easily from cuttings and grows quite quickly.

Hi Monika,
It would appear that you can get Citric Acid from Brewing Shops and this one in particular on line.

www.biggerjugs.co.uk

Sincerely,
JB.

JB that website name looks more "adult" than brewing!

Geoff wrote:gl : if you have space or can gorilla garden the allotment boundary the Black Elder (like all Elders) roots very easily from cuttings and grows quite quickly.

Hi Geoff - The plants I have on the plot are cuttings that I took and have also given several away but can't imagine getting away with gorilla gardening on our site!!!!!

one other thing you can use in your cordial to keep it longer is camden tablets - again from brewing shops / Wilkinsons etc. - kills off the yeasts and bacteria . You can also use a solution made from them to sterilise your bottles.

We have a relative of elder growing all around us - it's a very invasive weed which grows to at least 4 ft tall and stinks when cut. Not the same thing as the ground elder that we had in Scotland (which is where "if you can't beat it, eat it!" came from). I don't think the berries are edible (they stink as well!) but wondered if the flowers were any use as cordial?

Anyone know what this is?

Hi Goldilox,
Thought of you when France was reported to have had more than 12" of rain in 24 hours. Hope you were not too affected.
JB.

Hi Goldilox

Sounds like Sureau hieble - Sambucus ebulus - Dwarf Elder - Danewort - Walewort

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sureau_hi%C3%A8ble

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danewort